UNASSIGNED: Spontaneous aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a common acute cerebrovascular disease characterized by severe illness, high mortality, and potential cognitive and motor impairments. We carried out a retrospective study at Fujian Provincial Hospital to establish and validate a model for forecasting functional outcomes at 6 months in aSAH patients who underwent interventional embolization.
UNASSIGNED: 386 aSAH patients who underwent interventional embolization between May 2012 and April 2022 were included in the study. We established a logistic regression model based on independent risk factors associated with 6-month adverse outcomes (modified Rankin Scale Score ≥ 3, mRS). We evaluated the model\'s performance based on its discrimination, calibration, clinical applicability, and generalization ability. Finally, the study-derived prediction model was also compared with other aSAH prognostic scales and the model\'s itself constituent variables to assess their respective predictive efficacy.
UNASSIGNED: The predictors considered in our study were age, the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grade of IV-V, mFisher score of 3-4, secondary cerebral infarction, and first leukocyte counts on admission. Our model demonstrated excellent discrimination in both the modeling and validation cohorts, with an area under the curve of 0.914 (p < 0.001, 95%CI = 0.873-0.956) and 0.947 (p < 0.001, 95%CI = 0.907-0.987), respectively. Additionally, the model also exhibited good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test: X2 = 9.176, p = 0.328). The clinical decision curve analysis and clinical impact curve showed favorable clinical applicability. In comparison to other prediction models and variables, our model displayed superior predictive performance.
UNASSIGNED: The new prediction nomogram has the capability to forecast the unfavorable outcomes at 6 months after intervention in patients with aSAH.

BACKGROUND: Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is associated with adverse neurological outcomes. Early and accurate diagnosis of DCI is crucial to prevent cerebral infarction. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy and interrater agreement of the visual assessment of neuroimaging perfusion maps to detect DCI in patients suspected of vasospasm after aSAH.
METHODS: In this case-control study, cases were adult aSAH patients with DCI who underwent magnetic resonance perfusion or computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging in the 24 h prior to digital subtraction angiography for vasospasm diagnosis. Controls were patients with dizziness and no aSAH on CTP imaging. Three independent raters, blinded to patients\' clinical information, other neuroimaging studies, and angiographic results, visually assessed anonymized perfusion color maps to classify patients as either having DCI or not. Tmax delay was classified by symmetry into no delay, unilateral, or bilateral.
RESULTS: Perfusion imaging of 54 patients with aSAH and 119 control patients without aSAH was assessed. Sensitivities for DCI diagnosis ranged from 0.65 to 0.78, and specificities ranged from 0.70 to 0.87, with interrater agreement ranging from 0.60 (moderate) to 0.68 (substantial).
CONCLUSIONS: Visual assessment of perfusion color maps demonstrated moderate to substantial accuracy in diagnosing DCI in aSAH patients.

The 2023 International Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Conference identified a need to provide an up-to-date review on prevention methods for delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and highlight areas for future research. A PubMed search was conducted for key factors contributing to development of delayed cerebral ischemia: anesthetics, antithrombotics, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion, hemodynamic, endovascular, and medical management. It was found that there is still a need for prospective studies analyzing the best methods for anesthetics and antithrombotics, though inhaled anesthetics and antiplatelets were found to have some advantages. Lumbar drains should increasingly be considered the first line of CSF diversion when applicable. Finally, maintaining euvolemia before and during vasospasm is recommended as there is no evidence supporting prophylactic spasmolysis or angioplasty. There is accumulating observational evidence, however, that intra-arterial spasmolysis with refractory DCI might be beneficial in patients not responding to induced hypertension. Nimodipine remains the medical therapy with the most support for prevention.

Objectives  Neurosurgical patients often receive 0.9% normal saline (NS) during the perioperative period. Theoretically, a balanced salt solution (BSS) is better than 0.9% saline. We compared the effects of two different fluids on acid-base balance, renal function, and neurological outcome in patients who underwent clipping following subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm. Materials and Methods  Patients in group NS ( n  = 30) received 0.9% saline and group BSS ( N  = 30) received BSS (Plasmalyte-A) in the perioperative period for 48 hours. Comparison of arterial pH, bicarbonate, and base deficit measured preoperatively, intraoperatively (first and second hour), and postoperatively (at 24 and 48 hours) was the primary outcome of the study. The secondary outcome compared serum electrolytes, renal function tests, urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), serum cystatin C, and the neurological outcome using modified Rankin score (MRS) at discharge, 1, and 3 months. Results  In group NS, significantly low pH at 1-hour intraoperative period was seen compared with group BSS (7.37 ± 0.06 vs. 7.40 ± 0.05, p  = 0.024). The bicarbonate level in group NS was significantly lower and the base deficit was higher at second intraoperative hour (bicarbonate: 17.49 vs. 21.99 mEq/L, p  = 0.001; base deficit: 6.41 mmol/L vs. 1.89 mmol/L, p  = 0.003) and at 24 hours post-surgery (bicarbonate: 20.38 vs. 21.96 mEq/L, p  = 0.012; base deficit: 3.56 mmol/L vs. 2.12 mmol/L, p  = 0.034)). Serum creatinine was higher in group NS at 24 hours (0.66 vs. 0.52 mg/dL, p  = 0.013) and 48 hours (0.62 vs. 0.53 mg/dL, p  = 0.047). Serum urea, electrolytes, cystatin, urine NGAL, and MRS were comparable. Conclusion  In neurosurgical patients undergoing clipping for ruptured intracranial aneurysm, using a BSS during the perioperative period is associated with a better acid-base and renal profile. However, the biomarkers of kidney injury and long-term outcomes were comparable.

BACKGROUND: Volatile anesthetics have shown neuroprotective effects in preclinical studies, but clinical data on their use after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) are limited. This study aimed to analyze whether the use of volatile anesthetics for neurocritical care sedation affects the incidence of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), cerebral vasospasm (CVS), DCI-related infarction or functional outcome.
METHODS: Data were retrospectively collected for ventilated aSAH patients (2016-2022), who received sedation for at least 180 hours. For comparative analysis patients were assigned to a control and a study group according to the sedation used (intravenous vs. volatile sedation). Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of DCI, CVS, DCI-related infarction, and functional outcome.
RESULTS: 99 patients with a median age of 58 years (IQR 52-65 years) were included. 47 patients (47%) received intravenous sedation, while 52 patients (53%) received (additional) volatile sedation with isoflurane (n=30, 58%) or sevoflurane (n=22, 42%) for a median duration of 169 hours (range 5-298 hours). There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the occurrence of DCI, angiographic CVS, DCI-related infarction, or functional outcome. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the use of volatile anesthetics had no impact on the incidence of DCI-related infarction or the patients\' functional outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: Volatile sedation in aSAH patients is not associated with the incidence of DCI, CVS, DCI-related infarction or functional outcome. Although we could not demonstrate neuroprotective effects of volatile anesthetics, our results suggest that volatile sedation after aSAH has no negative effect on patient\'s outcome.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of glibenclamide treatment in patients with acute aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).
METHODS: The randomized controlled trial was conducted from October 2021 to May 2023 at two university-affiliated hospitals in Beijing, China. The study included patients with aSAH within 48 h of onset, of whom were divided into the intervention group and the control group according to the random number table method. Patients in the intervention group received glibenclamide tablet 3.75 mg/day for 7 days. The primary end points were the levels of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and soluble protein 100B (S100B) between the two groups. Secondary end points included evaluating changes in the midline shift and the gray matter-white matter ratio, as well as assessing the modified Rankin Scale scores during follow-up. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT05137678).
RESULTS: A total of 111 study participants completed the study. The median age was 55 years, and 52% were women. The mean admission Glasgow Coma Scale was 10, and 58% of the Hunt-Hess grades were no less than grade III. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. On days 3 and 7, there were no statistically significant differences observed in serum NSE and S100B levels between the two groups (P > 0.05). The computer tomography (CT) values of gray matter and white matter in the basal ganglia were low on admission, indicating early brain edema. However, there were no significant differences found in midline shift and gray matter-white matter ratio (P > 0.05) between the two groups. More than half of the patients had a beneficial outcome (modified Rankin Scale scores 0-2), and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The incidence of hypoglycemia in the two groups were 4% and 9%, respectively (P = 0.439).
CONCLUSIONS: Treating patients with early aSAH with oral glibenclamide did not decrease levels of serum NSE and S100B and did not improve the poor 90-day neurological outcome. In the intervention group, there was a visible decreasing trend in cases of delayed cerebral ischemia, but no statistically significant difference was observed. The incidence of hypoglycemia did not differ significantly between the two groups.

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice recommendations guide healthcare decisions. This study aims to evaluate the strength and quality of evidence supporting the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA) guidelines for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
METHODS: We reviewed the current AHA/ASA guidelines for aSAH and spontaneous ICH and compared with previous guidelines. Guidelines were classified based on the Class of recommendation (COR) and Level of evidence (LOE). COR signifies recommendation strength (COR 1: Strong; COR 2a: Moderate; COR 2b: Weak; COR 3: No Benefit/Harm), while LOE denotes evidence quality (LOE A: High-Quality; LOE B-NR: Moderate-Quality, Not Randomized; LOE B-R: Moderate-Quality, Randomized; LOE C-EO: Expert Opinion; LOE C-LD: Limited Data).
RESULTS: For aSAH, we identified 84 recommendations across 15 guideline categories. Of these, 31% were classified as COR I, 30% as COR 2a, 17% as COR 2b, and 18% as COR 3. In terms of LOE, 7% were based on LOE A, 10% on LOE B-R, 65% on LOE B-NR, 14% on LOE C-LD, and 5% on LOE C-EO. Compared to previous guidelines, there was a 46% decrease in LOE A, a 45% increase in LOE B, and an 11% decrease in LOE C. For spontaneous ICH, 124 guidelines were identified across 31 guideline categories. Of these, 28% were COR I, 32% COR 2b, and 9% COR 3. For LOE, 4% were based on LOE A, 35% on LOE B-NR, and 42% on LOE C-LD. Compared to previous guidelines, there was a 78% decrease in LOE A, an 82% increase in LOE B, and a 14% increase in LOE C. This analysis highlights that less than a third of AHA/ASA guidelines are classified as the highest class of recommendation, with less than 10% based on the highest LOE.
CONCLUSIONS: Less than a third of AHA/ASA guidelines on aSAH and spontaneous ICH are classified as the highest class of recommendation with less than 10% based on highest LOE. There appears to be a decrease in proportion of guidelines based on highest LOE in most recent guidelines.

UNASSIGNED: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a life-threatening medical condition with a high fatality and morbidity rate. There was a substantial link between the modified Fisher grade of aSAH and the neurological function deficit. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with the modified Fisher grade of aSAH using a machine learning approach.
UNASSIGNED: A multi-center observational study was conducted. The patients with aSAH were recruited from five tertiary hospitals in China. The volume of hemorrhage in aSAH was measured using the modified Fisher grade scale. The risk factors responsible for the modified Fisher grade of aSAH were analyzed, which include sociodemographic factors, clinical factors, blood index, and ruptured aneurysm characteristics. We built several tree-based machine learning models (XGBoost, CatBoost, LightGBM) for prediction and used grid search to optimize model parameters. To comprehensively evaluate the model, we used Accuracy, Precision, Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC), Area Under the Precision-Recall Curve (AUPRC), and Brier as evaluation indicators to assess the model performance and select the best model.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 888 patients with aSAH were recruited, of whom 305 with modified Fisher grade of 3 and 4. The results show that the XGBoost model has the highest AUROC of 0.772, and the indicators are better than CatBoost and LightGBM. The feature importance graph shows that the top feature variables include platelet, thrombin time, fibrinogen, preadmission systolic blood pressure, activated partial thromboplastin time, and the time interval between the onset of aSAH and the first-time CT examination.
UNASSIGNED: The factors responsible for the modified Fisher grade of aSAH were identified, which offered valuable insights for future research and clinical intervention. These risk factors should be controlled in the treatment of unruptured aneurysms, and appropriate treatment can be given if necessary to reduce the risk of severe hemorrhage after aneurysm rupture.

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients are given calcium channel blockers (CCBs) to prevent brain vessel vasospasm. We hypothesized that preinjury antihypertensive use may protect against vasospasm. It remains unclear whether the timing of in-hospital CCB initiation affects the vasospasm risk in this population.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included aSAH patients (≥18 y/o) at a Comprehensive Stroke Center (1/18-11/21). Patients taking prehospital antihypertensives [CCBs, Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)] were compared to those who were not. Results were stratified by patients receiving vasospasm prophylaxis (\'in-hospital CCBs\') ≤1.2 h of arrival vs. >1.2 h from arrival. Outcomes included vasospasm, hospital length of stay (LOS), and mortality.
RESULTS: Of 251 patients, 18% were taking prehospital antihypertensives. Patients were comparable in baseline characteristics. There was no difference in the rate of vasospasm when compared by prehospital antihypertensive use. For those on prehospital antihypertensives, the time to in-hospital CCBs was significantly longer for patients who developed vasospasm than for those who did not (1.2 vs. 4.9 h, respectively, p = 0.02). For those on prehospital antihypertensives, receipt of in-hospital CCBs within 1.2 h of arrival was associated with a significantly lower vasospasm rate (6% vs. 39%, p = 0.03) and LOS (14 vs. 20 d, p = 0.01) when compared to receiving in-hospital CCBs > 1.2 h of arrival, respectively. The mortality rate (50% vs. 26%, p = 0.06) was statistically similar between groups, respectively. These results were not observed among patients who were not on prehospital antihypertensives. The timing to in-hospital CCB initiation had no effect on vasospasm (p = 0.23), death (p = 0.08), or LOS (p = 0.31) for patients not on prehospital antihypertensives.
CONCLUSIONS: Enhancing the efficiency of in-hospital CCB initiation for patients on prehospital antihypertensives may decrease the occurrence of vasospasm and lead to a shorter LOS.